Catacombs and Castelgandolfo

Today I went to visit Callisto Catacombs on Via Appia Antica near the Marianist residence; first time seeing the catacombs and discovering that ancient Roman law forbade burials, regardless of religion, inside the city walls. There are at least 60 catacombs that have been discovered on the roads leading out of Rome. The most famous are San Callisto and San Sebastiano on the Appian Way. There are over 500,000 burial sites in these catacombs; many martyrs during the persecutions of Christians and children too. I was impressed by the enormity of these catacombs and the four levels of depth sometimes over 40 feet below ground. Several popes have been buried in these catacombs in the early Church. Because of the barbarians invading Rome and sacking the tombs for wealth, the Church excavated these tombs and moved many of the bones to different places and churches. Christian-themed inscriptions and frescoes are everywhere in the catacombs. Later we went to Castelgandolfo to visit the Pope's summer home. Pope Benedict is residing there now for the past two months and will be moving back to Rome at the end of the week. I did not get a chance to see the Pope; he usually comes out on his balcony facing the Pope's Plaza at Castelgandolfo everyday at 1:00 p.m. I did watch the changing of the Swiss guards at 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm in a short ceremonial ritual. The weather is much cooler at Castelgandolfo than in the city of Rome. After seeing Lake Albano and walking around the plaza we had coffee and cafe laitte before leaving for Rome.